Local Runner Has a Special Connection to Boston

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Arthur Brown, 55, moved to Fayetteville from Boston with his wife close to seven years ago because of a job opportunity.

He had just completed his 23rd Boston Marathon run. When he entered a subway, he was evacuated after the two explosions.

Brown said he will never forget the images of devastation after he got off the subway.

“I saw barriers set up, police standing in front of it and thousands of runners crowded behind this barrier,” Brown said. “You could see they were all just bewildered.”

Brown has deep roots with the Boston Marathon. It’s been part of his life ever since he was a small child.

“I love the Boston Marathon,” Brown said. “I grew up in a house where you could see the Boston Marathon through the kitchen window.”

Brown two children are in Boston with him and they weren’t near the finish line when the explosions happened.

His wife Katy Cushman is back home in Fayetteville. Cushman said she’s glad her husband is safe but has mixed emotions.

“I mean I was happy, but it’s just very upsetting because you know that there are people who aren’t OK,” Cushman said.

Cushman said the Boston community has suffered so much.

“The airplanes from 911 left from Boston and there were people in our community who perished in those and now there is this terrible thing in Boston,” Cushman said. “It just seems like the community has really taken a hit.”

Brown qualified for the Boston Marathon next year and said he will participate like he ran in New York after 911.

“First of all to honor the memory of the people who tragically died and to honor the people who were horribly injured,” Brown said.